There are many types of child activity and/or entertainment devices available today. Such devices include, e.g., bouncer seats, exercisers and jumpers, each of which being designed for providing a comfortable and secure environment for the child, as well as a source for entertaining or promoting activity in the child. Bouncer seats are referred to as such because the child has the ability to bounce or jump when sitting in the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,246 to Meeker discloses a seat, referred to as a child exerciser/rocker, that includes an upper tray area defining a circular opening for receiving and rotatably supporting a seat. The tray and seat are suspended at each of three locations by a spring extending from a post that is supported at its lower end by a tower extending upwards from a base structure. One notable drawback in Meeker""s exerciser/rocker seat, and other child seats of this design, is that the seats are rather bulky. A seat and activity area that provides a child with freedom to move or spin around as well as providing a variety entertainment activities, such as Meeker, brings about an end product that is rather bulky, not easily stored and difficult to transport.
One approach for providing a collapsible seat is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,211 to Myers. Myers describes a child exerciser device including a seat, tray and leg assembly detachable from a base member. Myers""s child exerciser includes a detachable assembly and a pivot connection between the leg and tray so that the child exerciser may be collapsed for storage and/or transport. The collapsed configuration is achieved by removing the legs from the base member, rotating the legs under the tray and then placing the tray, seat and legs inside the base member. There are several aspects of the Myers exerciser which are undesirable, some of which include the limited activity area provided for the child, the requirement that a user must physically separate the base member from the legs, seat and tray in order to collapse the exerciser, and the approach for collapsing the device does not significantly reduce the space occupied by the exerciser for storage purposes, nor provide for an easily transportable device.
In view of the above and other related drawbacks and limitations identified in the known child activity devices, there is a need for a child""s activity device that can be easily collapsed into a stowed configuration without sacrificing entertainment value to the child; providing freedom of movement and a relatively large activity area for entertaining and promoting activity; and yet is easy to convert into a non-use or stowed configuration for storage and/or transport.
The needs identified above are met, and the shortcomings of prior art child activity devices designs overcome by the child activity device of the invention. In one aspect, the invention provides a portable activity center for entertaining a child. The activity center is supported on a support surface and includes a support frame extending vertically upwards from a lower end proximate to the support surface and terminating at an upper end, and a seat supporting portion. A seat is coupled to the seat supporting portion and is able to rotate about a first axis relative to the support frame so as to allow a child placed in the seat to rotate about the first axis. A coupling assembly secures the seat supporting portion to the support frame upper end. The coupling assembly is selectable between a closed position fixing the seat supporting portion relative to the support frame and an open position permitting rotation of the seat supporting portion about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The portable activity center may further include a support leg extending form the support frame lower end and being selectively rotatable about a third axis, substantially parallel to the second axis for rotation between a use position and a storage position.
In another aspect of the invention, a child""s bouncer includes a frame having an upper end and a lower end, and a seat coupled to the frame upper end. A left and right support leg extend outwardly from the frame lower end, each of the left and right support legs including a support surface engaging end and a frame coupling end rotationally displaceable relative to the frame. A biasing member is coupled to each of the left and right support legs and positioned so as to bias each of the left and right support legs support surface engaging ends inwardly by rotational displacement of the left and right support legs frame coupling ends relative to the frame lower end.
A further aspect of the invention provides a method for configuring a child""s activity seat from a deployed position to a folded position. The child""s activity seat includes a seat coupled to a tray, a base support having an upper end and a lower end and a support frame supporting the activity seat in the deployed position. When the activity seat is configured in the deployed position, a first connector fixes the tray to a base support and a second connector fixes the support frame to the base support. The method of configuring the activity seat from the deployed to folded positions includes the steps of releasing the first connector so as to permit rotational motion of the seat and tray relative to the base support, and rotating the seat and tray about a first axis so as to position the seat and tray from a generally horizontal, deployed position to a generally vertically, folded position.
Another aspect of the invention provides an activity seat for a child configurable between a use position and a storage position. The activity seat includes a frame extending vertically upwards from a lower end proximate to the support surface and terminating at an upper end. The frame lower end includes a lower surface corresponding to a support surface engaging end for the activity seat when configured in the storage position. The activity seat further includes a seat coupled to the support frame upper end, and a support member having a first end and a second end corresponding to a support surface engaging end for the activity seat when configured in the use position. A coupling assembly is provided for coupling the support member to the frame. The coupling assembly includes a first pivot for configuring the support member between a use and a storage configuration, and a biasing means for biasing the frame upwardly when the activity seat is configured in the use position.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a foldable activity center for entertaining a child. The activity center includes a base support and a base frame extending vertically upwards from a lower end proximate to the support surface and terminating at an upper end. The activity center also includes a supporting portion having a child""s seat and an upper surface generally defining an activity area for a child placed in the seat, the upper surface defining a first plane. A coupling assembly secures the supporting portion to the base upper end. The coupling assembly is selectable between a closed position fixing the supporting portion relative to the base frame and an open position permitting rotation within a second plane of the supporting portion relative to the base frame, wherein the second plane is substantially perpendicular to the first plane.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a child""s activity center that is specially adapted for being configurable between a use and storage configuration wherein the storage configuration also provides for easy transport, and yet does not detract from the desire for providing the child with freedom of movement and a relatively large activity area for entertaining and promoting activity in the child.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a child activity device that has a novel support structure for providing bouncing activity for the child.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.